Merci, monsieur le président.
My thanks to our witnesses for coming here today.
This is a pretty disturbing case from a number of different standpoints. There's a series of questions I'd like to ask.
Could you confirm that the Newfoundland and Labrador government had to pay or did pay about $30 million in severance pay that AbitibiBowater should have paid and how that entered into the evaluation of giving $130 million to a company that projects profits over the next four years of $1.5 billion? It seems a poor use of taxpayers' funds, when you when you have projected profits in that scope and the Newfoundland and Labrador government picking up severance pay, to have Canadian taxpayers foot the bill for this situation.
The other question I'd like to ask is about compensable rights. Water rights, under Canadian law, are not subject to compensation, and I'm wondering again to what extent the evaluation took place.
You have the Newfoundland and Labrador government picking up severance pay. You have rights that are not compensable. How did the department evaluate this? I'm assuming they recommended payment. How did the department evaluate the payment of $130 million on that basis?